Saturday, April 22, 2006

Being Indian


It is a strange feeling...There is something about the national flag that inspires me. It kind of stirs a lot of emotions. It gives me goose bumps and makes the hair on my neck stand up instantly…I don’t know why this happens… Is this patriotism?

I frankly do not know what patriotism means.. Are you labeled patriotic if you salute the flag and know the anthem ? Are you patriotic if you keep yourself abreast with all the happenings in your country? Or are you patriotic if you want to do something good for your country?Maybe it is all of these…maybe it is something else…maybe its just in my blood...My grandpa was a freedom fighter. He was imprisoned by the British for this and he even shared the same cell with the Mahatma. I do not know much beyond this..I was too young when my grandpa passed away. I only remember that he was given a state funeral and his body was engulfed and wrapped with a sea of humanity and ….the national flag. To me this is the ultimate achievement of any human being...It is measured by not what you are when you are alive , but how much you are remembered when you are gone. Not everyone has the privilege of taking the national flag to the grave. To this day (it has been a couple of decades now) people still remember my grandpa.

India might be a country which tops the list of most corrupt nations. It might be a country where being above the povert line makes you a minority. It might be a country where corruption forces the common man to succumb to the deadly sins of life.It might have a system of governance where coalitions change overnight and lack – of – governance is the paradigm…

But heck, India is also the country with the smartest people on the planet. The fact that a country with such diversity in culture and traditions has a billion ppl staying together and united speaks volumes for her character. It wont be long before the world wakes up to a new super power. A super power that feeds the world through its talent pool, a super power that leads in technological prowess built completely from scratch, a super power that countries long to have as an ally, an economic power house that drives the world economy.

However these things might never happen. India might just stop progressing. The poverty line might just hit the sky. Our allies might turn into our worst enemies. The world order might suddenly change. India might go back to the dark ages. Irrespective of what happens, irrespective of what patriotism means or is supposed to mean, one thing is for sure....(at the cost of sounding cliched and corny) i will always be proud to call myself an Indian.

12 comments:

  1. I too feel the same way when something special happens that makes India proud. For example, I feel thrilled whenever a new discovery is announced in the field of Science or Maths and it has an "Indian Connection". During times of adversity the people always come together, however harsh and rude they might seem on the roads. The Indian Flag makes me, too, jitter with excitement, especially when it is flown amidst foreign crowds.

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  2. :)

    Very True Anoop...Patriotism for me is feeling proud everytime I hear India, it's defending it to the hilt when some Firang decides to tarnish its image even though I know deep down what they are saying has some truth to it, Feeling Goosebumps everytime I fill a form and Write Indian next to Nationality, its Braging about the BSE Index reaching 12,000, Its looking at the exchange rate and seeing its value increase aginest every currency, It's still being angry at my mom when she said no to me for the SSB ... I could go on & On...The gist is where ever I may be phir bhi Dil hai Hindusthani.. Jai Hind!!

    PS: Wonderful Pictures Anoop.Keep up the Good work.

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  3. Hey Anoop - well said! I don't believe patriotism is something you need to display externally. Its just there, within you, all the time. When you see something good being written about India, you feel proud. When something bad happends, you feel angry. When there is a disaster, you suffer. And even though this is a cliche, not everyone readily admits to being able to empathize like this. So I understand where you're coming from.And as India tries to emerge onto the world scene, its India's youth who are going to lead the way. We're in the right place, at the right time. We have to make it count.

    You must be honored to have people remember and talk about your grandpa. Its a privilege.

    Superb pics, by the way.

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  4. Nice read ! you are a patriot!
    India is certainly emerging as powerful commercial nation with all the talents she has. Lets just hope in this new found prosperity,the poverty line is narrowed.
    Regards,
    Kris :)

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  5. //My grandpa was a freedom fighter. He was imprisoned by the British for this and he even shared the same cell with the Mahatma.//
    WOW! That is very great.You must be really proud!! I did sense that you are very patriotic from your line 1 of the post...Jai hind! I too take pride in being a INDIAN!!There is just 1 thing that defntly need to be changed...The GOVERNMENT SYSTEm...I think we must pull in more educated and young people into the politics..After all we have to clean the mess our elders have made :P

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  6. WOW!!! i never expected this kind of a response to this post...Well its really nice to know that patriotism is still flowing as a strong undercurrent in today's society!
    We still have hope :)
    Cheers

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  7. Awesome post noop...loved reading it....good going!

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  8. Too Good Man...Keep it going...I totaly agree with each and every line...When we have so many things to be proud of, i dont know why people bring out only the negative things...

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  9. Very true...these are things which one doesn't really speak in the open. But it is very much there inside. They probably come out best when provoked. All of a sudden, you flare up with pride and indignition and defend your country..:)
    Well written!

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  10. firstly, must say this was a nice read.. a very refreshing one from the usual - "I dont really care what happens around me, I m born to be cool..(??)" attitude that most ppl our age pride themselves in.. :) its great to know someone who shares similar emotions abt our country.. patriotism doesnt need a demonstration of any sort! its just there, inside ya! when India wins a match or when a rocket is launched by the ISRO, the rush that goes thru u jus shows its there.. :)
    Nice to know about your grandpa.. :) must be such a privelege for ya..
    u have a nice blog here btw.. will visit more often..

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  11. Also a good way to pay a tribute to ur grandpa.
    Me too Proud to be an Indian
    Jai Hind.!

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